Lewis was found guilty in June of second-degree murder. He also was found guilty of armed criminal action and will serve a concurrent 10-year sentence.
Lewis had claimed he shot Bell in self-defense. But prosecutors said the shooting occurred after Lewis became angry when he and several others were asked to leave the party area.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former University of Nebraska at Kearney professor has been sentenced to five years of probation for possessing child pornography.
U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg says 56-year-old Joseph Benz was sentenced last week. Investigators found more than 20,000 images of child pornography on his computer in 2013.
Benz was also ordered to pay $9,999 restitution to victims that law enforcement identified in the images.
The case was part of a nationwide effort to reduce child sexual exploitation.
Kansas City Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kari Thompson says 27-year-old Kylr Yust was taken into custody around 8:30 Sunday morning in Edwards, Missouri. Thompson says Yust was arrested on charges of “knowingly burning” Jessica Runions’ vehicle, which was found abandoned by a road in southern Kansas City Saturday.
Police say the search for Runions is considered a suspicious missing persons case.
KSHB-TV reports Yust is being held on a $50,000 cash only bond. It wasn’t immediately clear if he had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A carriage company has been ordered to stop giving rides in St. Louis and St. Louis County after allegations that it used unlicensed drivers and worked horses on extremely hot days.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Taxicab Commission, which governs vehicles for hire, ordered Brookdale Farms to end the rides after a hearing this week.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports carriage rides are prohibited when heat and humidity cause a “feels-like” temperature of 100 degrees.
Jerry Kirk, owner of Brookdale Farms, said Friday he won’t stop operating his carriages. He says his company abides by the rules on heat days and it is unclear if the taxi commission has the authority to govern carriages. He also says licensing fees have risen dramatically, causing a financial burden for part-time drivers.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Hunters may enter a lottery through the end of September to gain deer hunting access to Platte River Recreation Access lands in the central Platte River Valley. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says 56 hunters will be chosen from a random drawing in early October and allowed to hunt deer on the designated lands Nov. 16-20.
Applications are limited to one per person and will be accepted by mail or in person at the Game and Parks service center in Kearney. Hunters may apply to hunt three areas but, if chosen, will receive permission for just one area. Lottery winners will be notified by Oct. 21.
More information and a map showing the available areas can be obtained at platteaccess.org, by calling 308-865-5338 or emailing ngpc.platteaccess@nebraska.gov.
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a Johnson County Sheriff’s deputy died after his patrol car was hit by another vehicle during a traffic stop.
The sheriff’s department says Master Deputy Brandon Collins was killed in the accident early Sunday on U.S. 69.
Overland Park police, who are investigating the accident, say minutes after the traffic stop, another vehicle hit Collins’ patrol car from behind, killing him.
The investigation into the incident is continuing.
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A transgender soldier imprisoned in Kansas for leaking classified information to the WikiLeaks website says she is on a hunger strike until her treatment improves.
Chelsea Manning says she began the hunger strike Friday because her pleas for better treatment at Fort Leavenworth have been ignored. She says she will not voluntarily consume anything except water and prescription medication.
In the statement supplied by her ACLU attorney, Manning says the hunger strike will continue until she receives the “minimum standards of dignity, respect and humanity” and she is prepared for the possibility of dying.
Manning, arrested as Bradley Manning, was convicted in 2013 in military court of leaking more than 700,000 secret military and State Department documents.
Army spokesman Wayne Hall said Friday he was looking into the situation.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Live entertainment, stunt dogs and a new butter sculptor are luring visitors to the Kansas State Fair.
The event started Friday and runs through Sept. 18 on the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson. The fair draws a crowd of about 350,000 people each year.
Performers will include pop artists Andy Grammer and Rachel Platten, along with the classic rock band Lynryd Skynyrd.
Away from the grandstand, there’s a petting zoo, camel rides and giant pumpkins. Besides the traditional livestock and food competitions, contestants also can vie in beard and mustache contests.
Fairgoers also will be able to meet sculptor Sarah Pratt, who is transforming 700 pounds of butter into a cow and boy. Pratt has been the Iowa State Fair butter sculptor for 12 years.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Planned Parenthood Great Plains says it will absorb three clinics in Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma.
The organization said Friday it will take over the clinics Oct. 20.
In July, Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri took over Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma and created Planned Parenthood Great Plains. With the new merger, the organization will oversee 12 health centers in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
The latest expansion involves clinics in Fayetteville and Little Rock, Arkansas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Laura McQuade, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said its headquarters will remain in Overland Park, Kansas. She says no layoffs are expected and more staff might be hired in the Kansas City office.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Aviation safety officials took the extraordinary step of warning airline passengers not to turn on or charge a new-model Samsung smartphone during flights following numerous reports of the devices catching fire.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued the warning Thursday night, citing “recent incidents and concerns raised by Samsung about its Galaxy Note 7 devices.” It is extremely unusual for the FAA to warn passengers about a specific product.
Passengers were also urged not to put the phones in checked bags.
Samsung recently stopped selling the phones and recalled more than 2 million of them after reports that the phones have spontaneously caught fire. In one case, a family in St. Petersburg, Florida, reported a Galaxy 7 phone left charging in their Jeep caught fire, destroying the vehicle.
